William 'Bill' LaSalla, Bethpage coach and former Newsday transportation chief, dies at 77

Family wasn’t just a word to Bill LaSalla — it meant everything to him.

"I can’t even explain it," his daughter, Gina LaSalla, said. "His [Newsday delivery] drivers were his family, and [the Bethpage High School varsity] football [team] was his family. You never knew who would be at dinner; who was staying over for the night. Whoever needed a place to stay, could stay."

William "Bill" LaSalla, who worked at Newsday in various capacities for more than 30 years, died after a battle with liver cancer surrounded by his family in Port St. Lucie, Florida, on Dec. 7, his family said. He was 77.

Whether it was his own family, his Bethpage football family, or his Newsday work family, LaSalla cared for, and touched, the lives of anyone he came to know.

"Whatever he had, you had," said Gina, who has worked at Newsday since 1988. "He never did ask for anything in return, and he didn’t want the accolades."

LaSalla was born in Brooklyn on Feb. 28, 1943. His family later moved to Bethpage, and he played varsity football at Bethpage under legendary coach Howie Vogts.

"Coach Vogts had to ask my grandmother if he could play," Gina recalled.

LaSalla’s grandmother said yes, and the results were far-reaching for the Bethpage community. He was also a member of the first team at Bethpage to wear face masks.

After he graduated Bethpage in 1961, LaSalla coached youth baseball and football in Bethpage, and was also an assistant varsity football coach on Vogts’ esteemed staff at Bethpage High School for more than 40 years. During that period, the Golden Eagles captured 14 Nassau titles and five Long Island championships. Vogts, who died in 2010, is still the state’s all-time winningest football coach.

LaSalla also founded what is now known as the Bethpage PAL youth football program in the mid-1960s. "His best times were on the field," Gina said.

His players still remember the influence of LaSalla to this day.

"He always had the one-liners," recalled Jim Brady, who played at Bethpage and graduated in 1991. "He was a total jokester, but at the flick of a switch he could turn serious and command respect. He had that fire.

"He was usually the one to give you a pat on the helmet, the hug, even when you were down. He was nurturing almost like a dad. He was such a good person, leader and coach," said Brady. "Coach Vogts, Coach [Erwin] Dill and Mr. LaSalla were all magnificent guys and gave me memories I’ll take to the grave."

LaSalla worked for the Town of Oyster Bay in the sanitation department for eight years, and started at Newsday as a driver in 1970.

"He’d work the overnight shift, leave, get a couple hours of sleep, and then coach football," said former Newsday employee Ron "Clem" Clementelli. "‘Big Bill’ was a larger-than-life figure, and my good friend for over 40 years. . . . The best thing I could say about Bill is that when he walked into the transportation room, everybody lit up."

He quickly became a foreman and moved into upper management over the years. LaSalla spent time as transportation manager and later as the daily operations manager before he retired in 2001. He relocated to Port St. Lucie.

"I never knew anyone to say anything negative about the guy. He just always knew what to do," said Clementelli, who retired as Newsday’s director of transportation operations in 2016. "He was one of the most loved and respected individuals of anyone I worked with in my 42 years at Newsday."

Besides his daughter Gina, LaSalla is survived by his high school sweetheart and wife of 56 years, Linda of Port St. Lucie and children Paula, Bill Jr. and daughter-in-law Lisa LaSalla, all of Bethpage, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. The family said they will hold a funeral Mass sometime in the spring.

With Andy Slawson